Tubular belt conveyer



Feb. 15, 1938. H. s. JOHNS 2,108,488

TUBULAR BELT CONVEYER Ov u Filed Nov. 24, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 15, 1938. H'. s. JOHNS I TUBULAR BELT CONVEYER Filed Nov. 24, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mUEmIUI' 1-1- 5 JD 1111:": 5/

reception of material,

pair of belts shown "Figure8ls Patented F eb. 15, 1938 TUBULAR BELT CONVEYER Henry Stinson Johns, North Grimsby Township, Lincoln County, Ontario, Canada, assignor .to

Bancroft Holdings Limited, Hamilton, Wentv worth, Ontario, Canada. a. corporation of Ontario, Canada Application November 24, 1936, Serial No. 112,514

5 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in tubular belt conveyers of the type shown in my United States Patent No. 2,013,242, September 3rd, 1935, and the object of my invention is to provide an opening device therefor which will move towards and contact the outside face of the conveying tube to split it open for the discharge of contained material.

A further and particular object of my invention is to provide a conveying tube opening device which will not come in contact with the material being discharged, and another object of my indevice of such a character that it can be installed and operated in any desired part of the conveying mechanism.

Another object of my invention is to utilize my apparatus as a means if so desired.

My invention consists of an opening device'for tubular belt conveyers constructed and arranged all as hereinafter more particularly described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in Which;-

Figure l is aside elevational view of a horizontal length of flexible conveying tube formed by a pair of belts supported by a plurality of pulleys and having my tube opening device positloned thereabove, the tube being in the closed position.

Figure 2 is a similar view to Figure 1, showing the tube opening device in operation, the tube being split open.

Figure 3 is an inverted plan view of the opened tube as shown in Figure 2. Figure 4 is through the belts, being taken through the line 44, Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a similar view to Figure 4, taken through the line 5-5, Figure 2 and ing the discharge (if-contained material.

Figure 6 is a similar view to Figure 4, showing a unitary tubular conveying belt instead of the in Figure 4. j Figure 7 is a similar view to Figure 5-wherein the unitary tubular belt is shown split for. the discharge of contained material, and a cross sectional view through a pair of belts split open at the top for the reception of material. Like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the difl'erent views in the drawings.

The type of conveyer to which my device is showparticularly applicable consists of either a pair 01" preformed rubber-like trough shaped belts i and for opening a tube for the an enlarged cross sectional view' e exert a pressure against 2 running face to face to constitute a moving tube, or a unitary tubular belt 3 having a longitudinal slit 4 therein.

As described in my United States Patent No. $013,242, the belts i and 2 receive material in their troughs t and are directed together to form a moving tube wherein the contained material is conveyed. The material is either discharged by separating the belts at the discharge end of the conveyer, or the material is discharged intermediately of the length of the conveyer by means of 'a' suitable discharge mechanism as I shall now describe. V

My mechanism is designed to discharge material at'the will of the'operator and broadly con sists of a freely rotatable roller 6 which is positioned above the pair of belts and designed to be /moved downwardly so that itspressure against the belts splits them open atthe bottom whereby contained material in the belts is discharged. When the'roller t from the beltsso that its pressure against the belts is relieved, the bottoms of the belts come together under the belt tensions whereby the closed tube is again formed and the contained material carried along to the next discharging point. The contacting faces I and 8 of the belts are formed with interlocking tongues and grooves 9 and it. The lower tongue 9 leaves itsgroove it in the split apart portion of the travelling belts and re-enters the groove as the belts come together.

It is to be understood that the pressure exerted by the roller 6 against the belts only splits them apart for a comparatively short distance upon either side of the roller and to insure that the belts remain together for the other portions of their travel a positionedunderneath and support the belt on either side of the roller 6. The grooves it in the pulleys it have substantially the same shape and dimensions as the lower half of the tube formed by the belts so that the only portion of the tube that can split open under pressure of the roller is that portion running between the puileys l i.

The roller 3 is supported and actuated by any suitable mechanism and in the drawings I show it freely contained in the bifurcated lower end it of a pivotally mounted arm M. The upper end of the arm i i is of a rod l5 which to the upper end of a swingably mounted hand lever i8. When the lever i6 is swung in a clockwise direction the roller 6 is swung downwardly to the belts and split them is moved upwardly or away pivotally connected to the endis, in turn, pivotally connectedpair of grooved pulleys ii are open, and when the hand lever I6 is swung in an anti-clockwise direction the roller 6 is moved upwardly whereby its pressure on the belts is relieved and the belts permitted to close together again under their qwn tension. In the drawings .1 also show a'hopper I1 for the reception of discharged material.

In Figures 6 and 7, I show the belt 3 of unitary tubular form and this type of belt is mounted in exactly the same manner as the tube formed by the pair of belts I and 2 and is also capable of being split apart as illustrated in Figure 6 by a moveable roller 21 having the same operable function as the roller 6. The faces I8 and I9 of the split 4 in the belt 3 are also preferably formed with interlocking tongues and grooves 20 and 2|. I

In Figure 8, I show a roller 22 positioned underneath my pair of belts I and 2 to exert an upward pressure against the belts and split them apart at the top for the reception of material being fed intothe belts as from the hopper 23. In this case I show the roller 22formed with spaced apart rings 24 which constitute a groove for the reception of the lower ribs 25 of the belts. The containing of the ribs within the groove prevents any possibility of the belts accidentally splitting at the bottom as well as the top. Although the belts I and 2 or the belt 3 can be of any desired shape, I have shown them of the same form as shown and described in my United States Patent- No. 2,013,242. In order to obviate any possibility of the belts riding out of the grooves I2 in the pulleys II when the pressure of the roller 6 is applied, I have found it in certain cases desirable to furnish upper riding pulleys 26 which bear upon the tops of the belts in the vicinity of the pulleys I I. The trough belts I and 2 are furnished with non-stretchable flexible cores 28, and the tubular belt 3 with a pair of non-stretchable flexible cores 29, both positioned as shown in the drawings.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a conveying mechanism, a pliable moving material carrying tube having a longitudinally extending slit-like opening through the wall thereof, a plurality of pulleys upon which the tube is suspended and between which it extends, and

adjustable means moveable towards the side of the tube opposite said slit to exert a pressure against the tube between pulleys to open it along its slitted side opposite the adjustable means for the reception or discharge of material.

2. In a conveying mechanism, a pliable moving material carrying tube having a longitudinally extending slit-like opening through the wall thereof, a plurality of pulleys upon which the tube is suspended and between which it extends, and a tube engaging roller moveable towards the side of the tube opposite said slit to exert a pressure against the tube between pulleys to open it along its slitted side opposite the roller for the reception or discharge of material.

3. In a conveying mechanism, a pair of rubber-like belts adapted to normally travel in face to'face contact with each other and having material-carrying cavities in their contacting faces, a plurality of pulleys between which the belts extend, and adjustable means moveable towards the belts between pulleys to exert a pressure against one side of the pair of belts to spread the other sides of the belts apart for the reception or discharge of material.

4. In a conveying mechanism, a pair of rubberlike belts adapted to normally travel in face to face contact with each other and having material-carrying cavities in their contacting faces, a plurality of pulleys between which the belts extend, and a tube engaging roller moveable towards the belts between pulleys to exert a pressure against one side of the pair of belts to spread the other sides of. the belts apart for the reception or discharge of material.

5. In a conveying mechanism, a pliable mov ing material-carrying tube having a longitudinally extending slit-like opening through the wall thereof, a plurality of pulleys supporting the tube and engaging its slitted portion, and a tube engaging roller moveable towards the side of the tube opposite to the slitted portion to exert a pressure against the tube between pulleys to open it along its slitted side opposite the roller for the reception or discharge of material.

HENRY s'rmson JOHNS. 

